Trump to Let Jerusalem Embassy Veto Expire in Time for 50 Years of Reunification - Tazpit Press Service BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Trump to Let Jerusalem Embassy Veto Expire in Time for 50 Years of Reunification)

President Trump would not renew the waiver that enables the President to postpone implementing the Congressional decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, said Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, on Sunday. He is heading the committee’s tour to Israel to investigate moving the embassy.

Speaking as a press briefing at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, he said that he did not think President Trump would sign the waiver, which is due for renewal in May.

“May will be close to the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem, and I expect President Trump will let the waiver expire.”

Ever since Congress enacted the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, the president has the right, under section 7, to sign a semi-annual national security waiver that enables him to postpone implementing the decision, citing national security interests. So far, all the presidents (Clinton, Bush, and Obama) who have held office since the measure was passed have consistently postponed relocating the embassy by renewing the waiver every six months.

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Arsonists Target Ancient Jewish Sites Absalom’s Tomb and Cave of Jehoshaphat - Tazpit Press Service BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

The Tomb of Absalom in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem. (Shutterstock)

Arsonists Target Ancient Jewish Sites Absalom’s Tomb and Cave of Jehoshaphat

By Tazpit Press Service November 14, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, thus he said: ‘O my son Avshalom, my son, my son Avshalom! would I had died for thee, O Avshalom, my son, my son!’” II Samuel 19:1 (The Israel Bible™)

By: Ilana Messika

The Israeli authorities reported an arson on the weekend of November 12, in the area of the “Tomb of Absalom” and the “Cave of Jehoshaphat,” situated in the Kidron Valley on the eastern side of the Old City separating the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives.

The Tomb of Absalom was damaged by fire. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

The fire is said to have caused serious archaeological damages.

The burial complexes in the Kidron Valley are attributed to the Jewish aristocracy of the late Second Temple period and are considered to represent architectural wonders.  The national park around the walls of Jerusalem surrounds the Old City, which represents the historical heart of Jerusalem.

According to Assaf Avraham, director of the national park under the Israel Nature and Parks Authority: “the findings point to an arson which unfortunately caused severe damage to valuable heritage and archaeological jewels.

“The national park has many visitors but is also, to our regrets, often fertile ground for acts of vandalism carried out by breakers of the law.”

The Israeli Police and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority launched an intensive investigation into the case and preliminary finding seem to indicate arson of a deliberate and criminal nature. Both bodies are attempting to find the people responsible in order to bring them to justice.

Archaeological Proof of David vs. Goliath Battle On Display in Jerusalem - Tazpit Press Service BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

The Khirbet Qeiyafa Archaeological Site. (Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem Spokesperson)

Archaeological Proof of David vs. Goliath Battle On Display in Jerusalem

By Tazpit Press Service August 31, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And the men of Israel and of Yehuda arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.” I Samuel 17:52 (The Israel Bible™)

By: Anna Rudnitsky

Biblical archaeology was revolutionized several years ago when evidence of the existence of the alleged kingdom of David was brought to light in the form of a fortified Iron Age town excavated in the Elah Valley by Hebrew University Professor Yosef Garfinkel and Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologist Saar Ganor. The place was described by the Bible as the location of the battle between David and Goliath. The highlights of the findings of the Elah Valley excavations will be presented to the public for the first time at an exhibition scheduled to open at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on September 5.

“Archaeology cannot find a man and we did not find the remnants linked to King David himself,” Professor Garfinkel told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). “But what we did find is archaeological evidence of the social process of urbanization in Judea.”

According to Prof. Garfinkel, the evidence of urbanization fits in with what is described in the Bible as the establishment of the Kingdom of David, when small agrarian communities were replaced by fortified towns. “The chronology fits the Biblical narrative perfectly. Carbon tests performed on the olive pits found in Khirbet Qeiyafa show that the town was built at the end of the 11th century BCE,” Garfinkel explained to TPS.

Two phenomena particularly attracted the attention Garfinkel and Ganor of when they began excavations at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa about ten years ago. Numerous iron stones were found and a wall of unusual form, with hollows in two places, enveloped the site.

The archaeologists only realized in the second year of their excavations that they had found a fortified town from the Iron Age that perfectly fit the description of the Biblical town of Shaarayim. The name in Hebrew means “two gates,” and the hollows in the modern wall, built on top of the ancient one, were precisely in the same place as the previous existence of two gates, which is quite a rarity for a relatively small town.

The geographical location of the town also fits right in line with the Biblical depiction of Shaarayim, mentioned in the context of the aftermath of the battle between David and Goliath when the Philistines “fell on the way to Shaarayim.” The town is also mentioned in the book of Joshua as being situated near Socho and Azeka, two archaeological sites surrounding Khirbet Qeiyafa.

The southern gate of the Khirbet Qeiyafa archaeological site. (Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem Spokesperson)

Other remarkable findings at the site include two inscriptions in the Canaanite script that are considered to be the earliest written attestation to date as to the use of the Hebrew language. A pottery shard contains the distinctly identifiable Hebrew words of “king,” “don’t do,” and “judge.”

The Bible Lands Museum exhibition, called “In the Valley of David and Goliath,” will feature the pottery shards as well as a clay model of a shrine found at the site and the huge stones used in the casemate wall around the town. “Although I led the excavations, I myself was amazed to see the different pieces brought together in a way that allows visitors to get a clear picture of how the town looked and that gives them an opportunity to go back in history to the times of the kingdom of David,” Professor Garfinkel said.

Father Naddaf: Israel the Only Country in the Middle East Where Christians are Safe By Tazpit Press Service - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Father Naddaf: Israel the Only Country in the Middle East Where Christians are Safe

By Tazpit Press Service July 20, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye Hashem.” Judges 5:9 (The Israel Bible™)

Father Gabriel Naddaf (Photo: Facebook)

By: Tzvi Lev/TPS

Israeli Greek Orthodox Priest Gabriel Naddaf opened the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) Washington Summit on Monday by lauding Israel as the safest country for Christians in the Middle East.

“Today, there is just one country in the Middle East where Christians live in peace and security,” said Naddaf. “In Israel, they have freedom of speech and religion, they can exercise their faith freely, and they have democratic rights.”

Christians United For Israel, or CUFI,  is an American pro-Israel Christian organization and the largest such organization in the United States, with over 1.6 million members. The Washington Summit is being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from July 17-18 and features many pro-Israel speakers as well as a message by satellite from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Israel is something we need to protect,” Naddaf continued. “We need to protect its freedom, we have to protect our home, and we have to protect the cradle of Christianity.”

Gabriel Naddaf, a resident of Nazareth,  is a priest and actively encourages Christian Arabs to enlist in the IDF. He has faced fierce criticism as a result, including threats to his family. Naddaf”s eldest son was physically assaulted in 2013 over what Naddaf attributed to opposition to his pro-military stance.

The Washington Summit has been ongoing from July 17-18 and featured a message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via satellite.

WATCH: In the Orlando Skies, a Message of Support from Israel By Tazpit Press Service - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

WATCH: In the Orlando Skies, a Message of Support from Israel

By Tazpit Press Service June 20, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“There are friends that one hath to his own hurt; but there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24 (The Israel Bible™)

Israeli-American Joseph Zevuloni Shows Israeli Solidarity in Wake of Orlando Massacre. 19.06.2016. (Photo: Erez Kashi/TPS)

By: Joshua Dermer/TPS

An Israeli-American took to the sky over Orlando last Wednesday, just a few days after the massacre at a local gay club by a self-declared ISIS sympathizer, to fly an airplane banner reading: “America! Israel Feels Your Pain.”

After hearing of the massacre that claimed the lives of 49 at the Pulse gay club in Orlando on June 12, south Florida resident Joseph Zevuloni, originally from Jerusalem, sought to “convey a message of solidarity, unity and friendship between the two countries,” Zevuloni said in an interview with Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

“We (Israelis) go through terrorist attacks constantly and we know how it feels,” Zevuloni, who came to America as a teenager, expressed. “Like everybody else I was devastated to learn of the attack. I do a lot of marketing in my business world, so I came up with the idea to put a banner that would circle around those vigils and people visiting all the different sites in Orlando.”

The message was warmly received, with Florida State Senator Darren Soto personally calling to commend Zevuloni for his sentiments.

“The response was overwhelming and beautiful,” he said. “I got hugs, ‘thank you’s and many comments like, ‘This is why we stand with Israel.’ You can see how much love and support the American people have for Israel.”

“We wanted to make our presence known in a very big way and I’m very glad our message resonated that way. I wanted to show the American people that we don’t just sympathize with them, we empathize,” Zevuloni told TPS.

“I wanted to show the American people that they have a best friend and best friends are there when they need help – when they need a shoulder to cry on.”

Naomi Altchouler contributed to this report.

Accidental Discovery Reveals Israel Was World Center of Ancient Glass Trade By Tazpit Press Service - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Ancient glass kilns were discovered in Israel’s Mount Carmel region, demonstrating the centrality of Israel in the global glass trade many centuries ago. (Photo: Shmuel Magal/Israel Antiquities Authority)

Accidental Discovery Reveals Israel Was World Center of Ancient Glass Trade

By Tazpit Press Service  By: Jesse Lempel April 12, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall the exchange thereof be vessels of fine gold.” Job 28:17 (The Israel Bible™)

A first-of-its-kind accidental discovery of ancient glass kilns at the foot of Mt. Carmel demonstrates that Israel was at the center of the global glass trade during the late Roman period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday, April 11.

The extraordinary kilns, which are approximately 1,600 years old, are “the earliest found in Israel and the missing link for the production and export of glass,” Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority Glass Department, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

The kilns were discovered by chance last summer during construction of a new railway line to the northern city of Haifa, when the on-site archaeologist, Abdel Al-Salam Sa’id, noticed peculiar shards of glass and ash. Sa’id immediately halted the construction and called Gorin-Rosen, who quickly arrived at the scene.

Stunned, she uttered a simple “Wow,” Gorin-Rosen recalled to TPS. “I was very, very excited.”

“The Valley of Acre was renowned for the excellent quality of sand located there, which was highly suitable for the manufacturing of glass” she explained. This glass traveled the ancient world, Gorin-Rosen said, noting that vessels made in Israel were “discovered at sites in Europe and in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basin.”

“Now, for the first time, the kilns have been found where the raw material was manufactured,” Gorin-Rosen said.

“This is a sensational discovery,” said Professor Ian Freestone of the University College London, a specialist in the chemical composition of glass who came to Israel to inspect the new find. “It is of great significance for understanding the entire system of the glass trade in antiquity. This is evidence that Israel constituted a production center on an international scale.”

The newly discovered kilns contain two compartments, a firebox and a melting chamber, where clean beach sand and salt were inserted and melted together at a temperature of about 1,200 degrees Celsius (or 2,000 Fahrenheit). This produced enormous chunks of glass, some weighing as much as ten tons.

An edict issued by the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early fourth century CE, refers to two kinds of glass: Judean and Alexandrian. The Judean glass, originating from Israel, was a light green color and less expensive than its contemporary Egyptian, Alexandrian counterpart.

Cameron Pearl contributed to this article.